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About the Year of Light

The International Year of Light is a global initiative which will highlight to the citizens of the world the importance of light and optical technologies in their lives, for their futures, and for the development of society. It is a unique opportunity to inspire, educate, and connect on a global scale.

Cassiopeia A 11,000 light years

One of the most famous bodies in the night sky is the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant. This object was created when a massive star ran out of fuel and exploded, hurtling its outer layers into space at millions of miles per hour. Because this material has been superheated, it glows brightly in X-ray light that is more energetic than what humans can see with their eyes. This image of Cassiopeia A was taken with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and shows three different energy bands of X-ray light in red, green, and blue.
Image Credit:
NASA/CXC/SAO
view and download image here.

Eagle Nebula 7,000 light years

Our Galaxy is filled with giant gas clouds containing atoms of hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and other heavy elements–the building blocks out of which new stars and planets are made. These atoms can be energized–either from ultraviolet light from nearby stars or by collisions with other particles–and the extra energy may be released as light of very specific wavelengths. Astronomers look for the emission of particular elements in distant objects by using special filters on their telescopes. This image, made at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, features the Eagle Nebula, or Messier 16, in all of its glory. This view shows a central cluster of stars that is forming within a larger hollow shell of gas and dust. The colors represent light given off by glowing hydrogen (green), oxygen (red), and sulfur (blue).
Image Credit:
T.A, Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage and B.A. Wolpa (NOAO/AURA/NSF) view and download image here.

Orion Nebula 1500 light years

The Orion Nebula, a region just to the south of the belt in the constellation bearing his name, is an active and boisterous stellar nursery. This image of the Orion Nebula is in infrared light, which, in contrast to light at visible wavelengths, passes through the dust that pervades the nebula, and reveals the very young stars buried within. This image was taken with the VISTA infrared survey telescope at the European Southern Observatory's Paranal Observatory in Chile.
Image Credit:
ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit view and download image here.

Helix Nebula 650 light years

When stars like our Sun run out of hydrogen fuel in their central regions, nuclear fusion of helium nuclei becomes the primary energy source. This and other nuclear fusion processes produce even heavier elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen and the outer layers of the star begin to shed into space. In this image, the red color around the outer edges shows where hydrogen and nitrogen are more prominent. The blue-green glow at the center of this object, known as the Helix Nebula, comes from oxygen atoms energized by the intense ultraviolet light from the very hot star that remains in the center. As the name implies, ultraviolet light is more energetic than violet light of the visible range.
Image Credit:
ESOview and download image here.

Total Solar Eclipse

A total solar eclipse is a natural phenomenon that happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth in just the right alignment, blocking the light from the Sun to certain places on Earth. Some people, often called "eclipse chasers," will travel to virtually any spot on the globe to experience a solar eclipse. Totality is when the shadow of the Moon blocks the entire disk of the Sun, leaving only its outer layer (corona) visible. This solar eclipse was photographed from Kastamonu, Turkey in August of 1999 at approximately 2:25 pm local time.
Image Credit:
Dan Schechter
view and download image here.

This website was developed by Lightsources.org, a collaboration between communicators from light source facilities around the world.

IYL2015 is a global initiative adopted by the United Nations to raise awareness of how optical technologies promote sustainable development and provide solutions to worldwide challenges in energy, education, agriculture, communications and health.